An Isosceles Love Triangle
by jujubeeza
Summary: There is no drama better than a love triangle. Naruto will find himself in one with two women who both love him for all the right reasons. No Harem. He won't wussy out and pick both or whatnot. Slow development. Naruto/Shion/Hinata
1. Chapter 1

Background: Naruto is 17 (two years after shippuden).

There will be no harem.

I use Shion from the first Shippuden movie. It would help if you at least know the synopsis from that movie, or some parts will be confusing. This fanfiction is in the 'anime' world, consequently.

I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: 'Naruto' is owned by Kishimoto Masashi. This fanfiction is written by user jujubeeza. It was written as an exercise in creative writing. I am an amateur writer that does not profit from this piece in any fashion, with or without my knowledge. I merely seek to contribute to a site that I have spent many hours visiting. While 'Naruto' belongs to Kishimoto, this fanfiction belongs to me. I ask that my work not be plagiarized. This disclaimed will apply to every chapter in this fanfiction.**

* * *

"Report, Kakashi."

Kakashi addressed his superior with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Which was famous for being negligible. "Ah. Yes. We located the enemy stronghold and successfully infiltrated it. There were more of them than we had anticipated, but Naruto came through in the end."

Tsunade shifted her gaze from Kakashi to her unofficial son and quickly looked over his entire body. The boy looked a bit tired, but that was it. There was no damage to his clothing, and no visible wounds that she could see. She briefly made eye contact with him, and he gave her a tired grin, a further indication of how spent he was.

Then she briefly looked at Sakura. Sakura's clothing was ripped in many places, she had cuts and bruises down the entire length of her arms, and that was one _ugly_ swollen ankle.

She looked over to her right at Shizune, who gave her a 'what?' shrug.

"Okay. Well done. Team Kakashi, you're dismissed. Report here at ten...no, nine in the morning tomorrow. We've had an influx of high-level mission requests lately, so I'm afraid that half a day's worth of rest is all you're getting. Go get the most out of it."

Sakura bowed and quickly headed towards the exit, completely leaving her team behind. Naruto was startled at how fast she left, and quickly moved to follow her. His stomach was screaming at him for nutrients, and he hated to eat alone.

"Hey Sakura-chan, want to go grab dinner before calling it a night?"

Sakura paused in her mad dash out of the office to stare at Naruto for a few seconds. Not entirely sure what to do, Naruto tried to win her over by giving her a quick smile.

Sakura responded by walking out the door.

Sighing, Naruto let her have a few seconds' head start before chasing after her.

The entire time, Kakashi watched the exchange with the same level of impassivity he always had. However, internally, he was more than a little unsettled. He had known Sakura and Naruto for years, and knew them well enough to know that something wasn't right. Well, something was always not right with those two, but this was much more than the norm.

Enough to leave him questioning his team's combat effectiveness.

"Kakashi."

He turned around to see Tsunade with her hands together supporting her chin. She didn't look pleased.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave now," he said as he began to head towards the door.

"Wait."

Kakashi stopped instantly, awaiting orders.

"I think..." She began, "that we need to talk about your team."

Kakashi turned around and looked at her.

After a couple of seconds passed, she nodded. "Yup. It looks like I really need to talk to you about this. You're not even complaining."

Kakashi answered by remaining silent.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, come on, wait up," said Naruto as he hurried to catch up to her. They were walking down a street with several good-looking and delicious-smelling restaurants all offering sales of various magnitudes.

This was not making him a happy camper.

In truth, he could have caught up to her in less than a second. A simple shunshin, or a chakra-fueled leap, and poof, he was right next to her. However, it was the principle of the matter. She was power walking and had the few seconds' head start that he spotted her, and she was not allowing him to catch up. As his stomach threatened mutiny, he wondered why the heck he gave her those seconds.

It didn't take very long for hunger to kick principle's ass and he resignedly used shunshin to jump in front of her.

Sakura stopped, but only because she was forced to. He was in the way, and he didn't look like he was going to let her pass by. Which sucked, because she was so close to home.

"Sakura-chan. If I have to pass by one more restaurant offering a 50% sale on everything they have, my stomach's going to kill me. I know you're hungry too because we didn't stop once on the way back, and we ran out of ration bars yesterday. I'll pay for everything and you can order whatever you want."

He put on a gentle smile. "So, come on, Sakura-chan. Let's go get something to-"

"Listen Naruto, I'm not in the mood right now. You can go stuff your face in ramen all you want. I _hate _that stuff Naruto. I _hate. it._ All the times I ate with you were bigger chores than spring cleaning at the hospital. In the _pediatric_ section."

Naruto's face lost whatever warmth it had as Sakura decided to set fire to the heart she just ripped out. He saw her face contorted in hatred and frustration for the first time in his life as she laid it on. "I know you like me. I do. I know you do. But guess what Naruto."

Naruto remained silent as Sakura walked up to his side and whispered in his ear as silent tears began leaking out from her eyes. Tears that he'd never see.

"_I...hate you..."_

Naruto kept his impassive visage in a manner that would have made Kakashi proud as Sakura ran for the peace being home would provide.

In a way, things went around full circle as she would never see the few tears he allowed to escape.

* * *

"What the fuck is with all these trees, man. There's no end to them!"

"Haha, I know. They're everywhere."

Two armored men sat helplessly fascinated by the number, volume, and height of the trees that made up the forestry that surrounded Konoha. The team of two horses carrying them and a small carriage moved slowly but surely towards the great hidden village.

One of the armored men had a revelation. "You know how they call Konoha 'The village hidden within the leaves'? They should change that to, 'The village hidden within the trees'! Bwahahahahah!"

The other man roared in agreement. "You're right! You're a genius man! You know that?"

"You two..._please..._be quiet. We are not allies of Konoha, and I would prefer that we not draw attention to ourselves."

The two armored men looked angrily at their ninja escort, a supposed jounin. He chose to walk along with the horses than ride with them. There was more than enough room for three, but hey, they weren't complaining. Just meant there was more room for them.

The armored man who made the joke asked the ninja a question he had. He was starting to freak out.

"We're not allies with them? Then uh, wouldn't they kill us if they found us? HEY YOU. NINJA. WE'RE NOT GETTING HAZARD PAY FOR THIS. WHAT THE HELL?"

Before his idiot partner could jump in, the ninja interrupted harshly. "We are not allies, but we are not enemies either. We are neutral. We have no relationship."

The ninja stopped for a second to ponder what he had just said. He decided he wasn't quite right. "Well, no. We have no _official_ relationship with Konoha. They performed a mission of great difficulty for us a little over a year ago, for which our country will always be grateful. We like them, and I suppose that they like us."

This largely placated the armored idiot duo, but they still weren't sure of a few things. "If that's the case, then, uh, why do you want us to be quiet?"

The jounin shook his head in exasperation. He thanked the heavens that they had gotten here thus far without any problems. Because god knows if they ran into trouble, their precious cargo would likely have been compromised.

And that would have been worse than dying _and _being condemned to rot for all eternity _with_ the idiot duo.

"Because we are ill-suited for combat. We don't know who's out here. Our group consists of you two, the horses, our cargo, and myself. As good a fighter I am, I cannot fight at maximum effectiveness if I must be protecting something during the fight. The very nature of our group is to move quickly and quietly."

This made enough sense for the armored idiots to understand, and they stopped talking to him, choosing instead to talk amongst themselves. He had no problem with that, provided they not test how loud their vocal cords can be.

The jounin performed a general scan of his immediate area. He was a seasoned veteran, and his quick scans always informed him of any possible threats in the area. After scanning the area twice, he was pleased to find that no one in the area meant them harm, and pulled out his map.

He hated traveling by moonlight, well no, he hated traveling _slowly_ by moonlight, but his liege was adamant that they keep going until they arrived. The past few hours had been taxing, but it was worth it. They were close now. Really close. An hour at the most, probably even less.

He heard a soft knock coming from the carriage, and hurried over. An even softer voice asked him how much longer until they arrived.

"We should arrive within the hour, Shion-sama."

* * *

"So that's it, huh." Tsunade asked, tired and just sick of her job at the moment. Alcohol was her only salvation, and she knew what she had in her drawer.

"Yes," replied a despondent Kakashi. "As I see it, Sakura is getting increasingly agitated at the fact that she is falling behind Naruto."

Tsunade sighed. It was late. On any other day she would have already lost her sobriety. Hours ago.

However, there was a late emergency at the hospital and only she was available because Shizune was performing a surgery and Sakura was out on a mission.

The emergency was handled without any problems, and she came back to the tower to wrap things up for the day. Shizune had returned before she had, and did most of the daily punch-out tasks. She only had to reseal classified documentation that she was looking over and store it away.

But those days, those horrible, elongated days, just refuse to end.

Team Kakashi returned days ahead of their predicted return date. As she was walking out the door.

Teams returning early after a successful mission is something she usually looks forward to. Not this time, as it kept her in the office.

And from the look of things, she'd have to stay for at least another hour.

She looked at Shizune, who looked like she'd fall asleep within five seconds if allowed to.

She sighed again, this time escalating into a full-blown yawn. Kakashi's mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. However, it went in the other direction very quickly.

"Kakashi. That's...ridiculous. Sakura is the village's best medical ninja. And when I say that, I'm including myself. Lately, when I spar with her, I only win because of experience. She is stronger than I am, faster than I am, and smarter than I am. Heck, in a few years, I'm going to retire, and she's already being mentioned among the council as a potential Sixth Hokage."

That was news to Kakashi, though it made sense on a practical level. He felt a bit of pride in that his student was being considered for Hokage. The council asked him a year ago to accept the position of Sixth Hokage. He turned them down faster than Naruto eats a bowl of ramen.

Hokage was a cool position and all, but it wasn't for him. Too many responsibilities. No real power.

And that hat did not appeal to his fashion sense.

He knew that it appealed to Naruto though. Naruto wouldn't shut up about the stupid hat if it was brought up in a conversation.

Still, he did not know what to make of the situation. It was nice that Sakura was being acknowledged. He was happy for her. He knew Tsunade was as well.

But man, would they be making a mistake if they chose her over Naruto. Picking Sakura for her skills wouldn't be a mistake. Picking Sakura over Naruto would be.

Being the squad leader, he knew the difference between the two. Everyone else was oblivious.

Kakashi had no idea what Naruto did for training. Ever since Naruto created the rasenshuriken, he'd kept his training sessions private. Naruto perfected control over the Kyuubi's chakra while training with Bee two years ago, and mastered his wind affinity to such an extent that he could largely nullify Madara's spacetime techniques.

In their most recent mission, they had to infiltrate one of Kabuto's bases where he was mass producing ninja with curse seals and gather information on them. Naturally, the infiltration went without a problem and they learned what they needed plus acquired some interesting documentation, but they were discovered and had to fight their way out.

There were hundreds of enemy ninja, each with the full power of a level two curse seal.

Due to their overwhelming power, he was forced to use raikiri to dispose of them, and that immediately limited his combat ability to at most eight kills.

Sakura gave it her all. She was stronger and quicker than they were, but whatever advantage she had was overwhelmed by their numbers.

They would have died if not for Naruto, who shot off rasenshurikens like they were E-class jutsus.

And the council is considering Sakura. Not Naruto.

The entire scenario was ridiculous.

"Hokage-sama, I know Sakura is strong. She is among the top five ninja in the village. Her healing abilities are incredible. I don't even understand the theory behind some of them."

Tsunade smiled and felt a surge of pride. Kakashi noticed it, but continued on.

"...but, if we compare her to Naruto, well, there is no comparison."

Shizune woke up and stared at Kakashi with wide eyes.

Tsunade's smiled vanished.

"Kakashi. You know when I spar with Sakura, Naruto is almost always there as well? I spar with Naruto, and I have Sakura spar with him. I kick his cute little butt into the ground, and Sakura barely breaks a sweat."

Kakashi decided it was time. His prized student, for reasons unfathomable, was holding back. He had suspected it before, but it was obvious now. When Naruto slaughtered the enemy ninja on the mission, he was thoroughly impressed, but not surprised. Sakura on the other hand, looked like a deer caught in headlights. While under the effects of alcohol.

"A spar...is just that. A spar. It is a practical application of taijutsu, which is a strength of Sakura's and yours, Hokage-sama. The main goal of a spar is to better your taijutsu. Naruto? He's good at it, but spends nowhere near the amount of time on it that you two do."

Tsunade bristled. "I know what a spar is Kakashi. Do_ not_ lecture me right now."

Kakashi nodded. "I apologize, Hokage-sama, but please allow me to finish. There is a point that I am trying to make."

Tsunade was really getting tired. "Just make your point then."

He nodded in reply. "Sparring doesn't use any ninjutsu, excluding the shadow clones he just makes for Sakura to hit to make Sakura feel better about herself. When you spar with him, you're matching your strength against his weakness." Kakashi perked up. "On top of that, I'll bet he doesn't even use the toad taijutsu style. Or anything beyond the academy basics."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. Most of what Kakashi said was true, but some key points were false. "Fine. Let's say he's holding back. Regardless, saying he's not weak and saying he's strong are two different things."

Kakashi nodded. He was one of the last people to have to be told that. Almost every chunin falls into that category. Those who understand the difference become jounin. Those who don't, die.

"Then I suggest that we finally see what Naruto's truly capable of. I have strong suspicions that he's been hiding a significant amount of his abilities. I personally have not seen him train for over a year now, so it'll be a good lesson for me as well, being the team leader and all."

Tsunade mused over Kakashi's words, and decided that she also wanted to see whatever he was holding. Pulling rank on Naruto was going to be fun.

"Fine, Kakashi. Do whatever. I'll have Shizune schedule it sometime after your next mission." She opened her drawer at last to reveal three bottles of sake from Rice Country that Naruto stole from a mission four months ago. He gave the bottles to her for her birthday, and she rewarded him by shoving his face into her cleavage repeatedly for a good three minutes.

Of course, he had to be hospitalized immediately after due to asphyxiation symptoms, but who's to say he wouldn't have died a happy man?

Kakashi was aware of what Tsunade was doing, and could not fault her for it. All ninja have their vices. Comes with the job.

"Then, I will take my leave, Hokage-Sama."

Tsunade dismissed him with a quick wave of the hand. "Get out of here. Go alleviate yourself with Jiraiya's crap or something."

Kakashi lowered his head, shook it twice, and shunshined out of sight.

Grinning maliciously, Tsunade opened one of the bottles and reveled in the odor. Sake was at its best about six months after being made, and it looked like waiting a month before opening them was going to pay off exponentially. She looked to her right and saw Shizune sleeping on the floor.

It was time to enjoy life.

She poured herself a cup and greedily drank the contents. The taste was orgasmic. Sex didn't feel as good as that did.

Just as her day finally began to get better, she was interrupted by Izumo, one of the chunin gatekeepers.

"Hokage-sama, you have a visitor."

Tsunade went from sake-induced orgasmic bliss to righteous feminine anger. "I'M MAKING LOVE WITH MY BELOVED. LEAVE ME ALONE. AND ISN'T IT LATE? TELL THEM TO COME BACK IN THE MORNING."

Izumo _really_ didn't need to know that his fifty-plus year old female village leader was getting some, even if she was hot. At least she was rational at the end of her tirade.

"Hokage-sama, the visitor is a head-of-state, and expressed a great desire to meet with you tonight."

That sobered her up completely. A _kage_ came to visit her? This was an ambitious political move, especially considering the time of day. Must be something really serious.

Konoha wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Iwa, Kiri, or Kumo, and none of the smaller countries would have the balls to ask for a meeting in the middle of the night unannounced.

"Tell Gaara to come up."

Izumo was confused. "Gaara? No, Hokage-sama, the visitor is not the Kazekage."

Tsunade was now genuinely interested. "Oh really? Then who is it?"

"The visitor is claiming to be the High Priestess from the Land of Demons."

* * *

"You can't be serious Naruto."

"I'm dead serious tonight, old man. Give it to me."

Teuchi sighed resignedly as he poured Naruto a cup of the strongest sake his shop offered. He sighed again as he saw Naruto guzzle it down like it was air.

Ayame stared at Naruto with a slightly sad face, which Naruto noticed and quickly began to grow annoyed at.

"Ayame-nee, is there something on my face?"

She perked up. Normally she'd make something up and answer with a 'yes', but lately, she found herself not needing an excuse to stare at his face other than the fact he was a seventeen year old male ninja with blond hair and blue eyes, not to mention a well-conditioned body that finally lost all of its baby fat.

Summarized: He was hot.

Too bad she'll always be his older sister.

"Not today Naruto. I was actually so shocked that I was looking for something, but nope. Nothing."

Despite himself, Naruto chuckled. He could always trust Ayame-nee to cheer him up when his life sucked. Which was sadly most of the time.

As Teuchi began to fill the empty cup, Naruto waved him off. "It's okay, old man. I'm alright now."

Teuchi put on the smile that only a proud parent can do, which further pleased Naruto. He loved this place. It was his sanctuary—his salvation from the misery of everyday life.

"So what happened today Naruto? The mission not go well?"

The question knocked Naruto back down to Earth, but at least he wasn't burning in hell like he was a minute prior. "The mission went great. We learned a lot about what Kabuto was up to, and even found some really detailed documents about the curse seals. Kakashi-sensei was really happy when he found them. It sort of went bad when one of them found us, forcing us to fight our way out. But no one got really hurt and we killed a lot of them, so even that went well."

Teuchi had heard this story enough in the past year to know exactly how it was going to end. Ayame frowned, as she also knew what he was going to say next. She was about to make a retort when she noticed someone trying to hide behind a fence while stealing glances at the shop.

She grinned. She had a hunch as to who it was, and that someone was definitely glancing at someone currently eating at the shop. She subtly waved the imminent visitor over.

Teuchi sighed. That Sakura girl just...GAH. "What happened afterwards, Naruto?"

Naruto began like he usually did. "We were heading back, and Sakura wouldn't talk to me the entire time. Heck, she wouldn't even look at me. After we debriefed with the old hag I asked her out for dinner and, well..."

Naruto got angry for a split second, and clenched his fists in anger, but he stopped being angry as fast as he got angry. Looking up at two of his more favorite people in the world, he shot them a brilliant smile and laughed. "You know what? Not today. I'm here with you two, eating ramen, having fun. Not today. I'm going to enjoy this. You know baa-chan has another mission for us in nine hours?" Ayame closed her eyes as Teuchi only shook his head. "Yeah, I know, right? So...yeah. Not today. I'm going to enjoy my time with you guys."

Naruto began swallowing liberal chunks of noodles in one gulp, to which Teuchi couldn't help but look on in fascination. It was a sight that he'd seen hundreds of times, but the phenomena still was a sight to behold.

To Ayame's delight, the mystery person turned out to be who she expected. The mystery person's progress to the shop was like an average Chutes and Ladders game. Ten steps forward, twenty steps back. Thirty steps forward, fifteen steps back.

Ayame laughed inside. The poor girl was trying her best. Ayame decided she'd put her out of her misery.

"Hey Hinata! Come here!"

Naruto looked back to see a flushed Hinata, and he smiled and waved at her. He wisely chose not to try to talk, as he probably would have chocked to death on noodles.

Blushing furiously as only she can, Hinata slowly but surely walked over to the small ramen shop.

* * *

"I must say, I was not expecting you tonight."

Tsunade was determined to ride the high of the two cups of sake she had for as long as she could.

Shion could smell the sake, and was surprised that a kage would drink in her office, but chose to say nothing.

To insult the kage would not benefit the goal of her visit.

"I greatly apologize Hokage-sama, for the timing of my visit. However, I have a problem that I would appreciate your assistance on immediately."

Tsunade nodded, but internally she was banging her head against a wall. This day would just not end.

"Do you require ninja assistance."

Shion hesitated, but only for a moment. "You could say that, yes."

"You are familiar with the ninja mission ranking system, yes?" Shion nodded. "What rank would you place this problem of yours at?"

Shion did not hesitate to give her reply. "The highest. 'S'."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, but this didn't not surprise her. If anything, it placated her. Anything less than a S-level emergency was not worth discussing about at this time.

"Can you give me the background of your problem?"

Shion nodded again. "It is a month until my eighteenth birthday, Hokage-Sama."

That got Tsunade's attention. What did that have to do with anything? "Okay..."

Shion continued. "The powers of the High Priestess of Demon Country, which are demon sealing and the ability to foresee how a person will die, wear off at the end of the teenage years. Some priestesses have kept their powers as a twenty-year-old, but every priestess has completely lost her powers before her twenty-first birthday."

Tsunade nodded. Her birthday really did have to do with something. She still couldn't piece the problem together though with this information. "Is that all...or..."

Shion shook her head. "Last year, you sent several teams to my country to help us seal the greatest demon our country has ever known. We were successful. Unbelievably so. Where many former High Priestesses only succeeded in creating a temporary seal, I was able to create a seal that will in all likelihood hold him forever."

Tsunade was really confused now. "So what's the problem?"

Shion paused. She was getting to the 'problem'. She had to say this right. "I performed the same seal that all my predecessors did. It's just that, there was a Konoha ninja who helped me by using his chakra to strengthen the seal as it was forming, which resulted in some unusual side-effects."

Tsunade had a feeling she knew who this Konoha ninja was, but she'd let Shion confirm it.

Tsunade remained silent, so Shion went on. "The seal was _much_ stronger than what I hoped to create. I'm actually very happy about the whole situation, if it weren't for something my country's chakra sensors picked up."

Shion took a deep breath. This was it.

"The seal will only break if there isn't a High Priestess of Demon Country. Which means, the seal will be broken if I lose my powers."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "That's in just over a year now, isn't it?"

Shion nodded. "Yes it is."

"Then just select a new High Priestess."

Shion stared at Tsunade. Was the Hokage this much of an idiot? Shion attributed it to it being night and alcohol. Shion hoped it was a lot of alcohol.

"It does not work like that. If it did, I wouldn't have to be here right now."

_And I could be sleeping..._Tsunade sadly thought.

"The powers of the High Priestess can only be passed down by the current High Priestess having a child."

Tsunade resisted the urge to facepalm. This? This is an S-Class problem?

Tsunade tried her best to fight off a grin, but failed spectacularly. She decided she was going to have fun with this. "Then I suggest that you become...fertilized," (Tsunade fought off laughter) "Quickly?"

Shion looked down and blushed, as Tsunade almost burst out laughing. Oh, this girl was going to be fun to tease.

"As one of the leading medical ninja in the world, I suggest you find yourself a healthy, good-looking, well-endowed young man who'll treat you right. Make sure he's whipped before the baby's born and make sure he knows how to change diapers. Oh, make sure he can cook and give amazing foot massages. You might want to remove his eyes so he can't ogle other women, but I've been told that's going too far. It's up to you though."

Shion paled externally, but tried to remember as much as she could. She didn't have a mother figure, so whatever advice she received was a blessing. What was that about a whip...?

Tsunade got a kick out of Shion's internal turmoil. Ah, to be so young and innocent.

"So. I understand your 'problem'. But I don't understand why you had to rush down to my village. Does Demon Country have no men or something?"

Shion committed the last of Tsunade's advice to memory and shook her head. "No, there are plenty of men in Demon Country."

"Are they ugly? Impotent? What is it?"

Shion looked at Tsunade with a touch of anger and sadness. "I don't love them." Tsunade was about to lose it. She felt bad for the girl, especially if it was going to be her first time, but the continued prosperity of a demon's seal trumped the irrational fantasies of a virgin woman.

Shion noticed that Tsunade was about to speak and interrupted her. "I understand that my duty to maintain the seal is far more important than my thoughts of love. But this is not just about me. I am to have a child with my partner. A child that will be a part of my life until I die. A child that I will not watch grow up with a mother and a father's love, with plenty of love between the mother and the father."

Tsunade was touched. A little. Okay, not much at all. If that, even. They lived in the ninja world.  
Orphans are more common that children with two living parents.

Shion continued. "If there wasn't a man that I was in love with right now, yes, I would just agree to whichever suitor was suggested to me and get on with it." Shion stared Tsunade right in the eyes, impressing the older woman with the amount of passion in them. "But I do. No man in Demon Country can love me for me. I have told too many of them how their family members, friends, will die. They see me as the High Priestess. They could never see me as a woman, let alone someone they could love.

Tsunade almost snickered. Obviously Shion did not know the fantasies that young, hormonal men come up with on a regular basis. Priestesses were high up on those fantasies.

She knew how Shion's story was going to end up now. It was funny, really. At the very least, she was going to enjoy these upcoming months.

"So you fell in love with a Konoha ninja that was sent to your country a year ago." Shion nodded. "I assume this ninja also helped you form the seal?" She nodded again.

Tsunade pitied the young High Priestess. To have a kid...with _him._ Oh, she better learn to cook ramen.

She asked for confirmation, though she was sure who it was. "Who is he?"

Shion blushed, before replying, "Uzumaki Naruto."

Tsunade grinned.

* * *

The thing I'm most proud of is that disclaimer. It's so pretty.  
Constructive criticism always appreciated.

Expect slow updates. Like really slow. Weeks, months. Sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

An Isosceles Love Triangle

Chapter 2

* * *

She hates herself.

Nothing new.

Sakura walked into her studio apartment, threw the keys on the table, and began searching for her laundry basket. She hadn't cleaned in months due to the drastic increase in mission frequency. She sighed, imagining an alternative life where the alliance of the five nations didn't break down after the war.

Akatsuki wasn't finished off by the fourth war, seeing how Madara escaped with his life. He _was_ Akatsuki, but he lost everything before and during the war, and rebuilding what he had should take him years, if not a few decades.

Kabuto also escaped from the clutches of the great alliance to the heavy disappointment of the kages. The alliance didn't accomplish anything in the war except to kill those that were already dead, plus roughly 100,000 Zetsu clones.

The alliance however, did lose ninja. A _lot_ of ninja.

Suna's forces suffered the least casualties, as they were mainly long-ranged support fighters who largely weren't on the front lines. Iwa and Kumo suffered the largest casualties, being more melee-oriented, with Kumo also losing its Raikage-to-be, Darui, and Iwa losing the only kage it ever had to Madara. Kabuto tried to immediately use edo-tensei on the Tsuchikage after he fell, but a brilliant seal master from Kiri managed to stop that attempt. More than a little angry at being denied, Kabuto immediately flash-stepped to the seal master and blew him up with explosive tags.

The great alliance by all accounts won the fourth war, but the alliance fell apart almost immediately afterwards.

Iwa harshly criticized Gaara for keeping his own troops off the front lines, claiming that he intended to use the war to strengthen the position of his village. Kumo quickly agreed, and if not for Bee and Naruto, the fifth war likely would have started right then and there.

Tsunade spoke out on Gaara's half, logically stating that Suna's soldiers were mainly ranged-support types. Of course, logic was completely useless when matched against the emotions that come from exhaustion and grief, and Iwa and Kumo both refused to listen, going as far as to say that Konoha had collaborated with Suna.

Also, the Hyuuga council of elders minus Hiashi demanded that Kiri hand over Aoi, so that they could remove the Byakugan eye that he had taken. Kiri vehemently refused, and although Hiashi did his best to pacify the situation, Kiri left the alliance with as much distaste for Konoha as they had when they entered the alliance, if not more.

Tsunade felt truly powerless when she tried to do something but was held back by her own council, stating that she couldn't interfere with clan affairs.

And so, the fourth great war ended with Madara and Kabuto both still alive and at large, and all five villages going back to their ways before the alliance was forged.

For her, it meant continuing her mundane, repetitive days at the hospital. Early on, it was fun, as she was still learning her craft, and only treating patients with low to moderate levels of illness.

She, of course, got better, and had to deal with sicker and sicker patients. Nowadays, the patients that she sees are such that even her skills can't keep more than a third of them alive longer than a year. Her success rate in the emergency room with trauma patients was even worse-Iwa ninja attacked Konoha ninja with a new level of fury after the war, having learned that Naruto was the son of the fourth.

Sigh.

Naruto.

She didn't want to think about him tonight.

She had confessed her love to him before the five kage summit, and to her complete surprise, he told her to cut it out.  
He knew she didn't mean it, and that galled her. She thought that he'd die of happiness and completely forget to go after Sasuke. Instead, he was the one who acted maturely given the situation and read her like an open book.

He had grown up without her realizing it.

Worse, he had left her behind.

He fought Pein on equal grounds when the entire damn village couldn't.  
He allowed those ninja from Kumo to beat him to a pulp as repentance for Sasuke's actions.  
He alone could distinguish people from Zetsu clones, restoring peace of mind to the alliance camp.  
He alone won the war when he damn near got himself killed to deliver what would have been a fatal blow to any ninja in the world except Uchiha Madara.

He surpassed her skills as a ninja. He outgrew her as a person.

She thought she was catching up in the past year when she was hammering him into the ground regularly during their 'friendly' sparring sessions, and taking the equivalent of doctorate-level lessons from Tsunade.

Then they had their first true S-class mission together, as a three-ninja jounin unit, and she saw how pathetically wrong she was.

She acted like she hated him for it, when she really just hated herself.

Which of course, made her hate herself even more.

Having found the laundry basket, Sakura quietly began removing her shredded clothing. Her shorts were pretty much intact, so she threw those in the basket. Her socks as well.

Her shirt was beyond repair, and that went on the floor like pretty much everything else she had.

Her bra somehow escaped any damage to it. She took it off and tried to throw it in the basket.

Tried, because she didn't let go of it.

She looked at her bra, which supported her pathetic weirdly-shaped A-cup breasts. Her breasts didn't grow while Tenten went up a cup size, Ino went up two, and Hinata went up four. Even _Moegi_ had a bigger chest than her now.

The boys never paid her much attention when the group went to the local pools during the summer. Except Naruto, who blushed like Hinata whenever he looked at her.

Sigh.

Naruto.

She needed to stop doing this.

Doing the laundry was going to be a welcome distraction.

* * *

Kakashi was sad. There were many reasons why.

He left his place in a mess because their last mission had come up so suddenly.  
He had read every Icha Icha to the point that they were overused.  
There weren't going to be new volumes published anymore.  
And the worst of all...his student now would own his old ass ten out of ten fights.  
He couldn't even pull rank on him now.

Honestly, what did he have to live for?  
The black ops missions that he had loved as a younger man...those special missions that didn't see the light of day...where it was just you and the target. Nothing else mattered. He had felt so alive during those missions.

Those didn't appeal to him now. Chalk it up to old age.

And he sure as heck wasn't going to apply for another genin cell.

Later on he would realize it, to his shocking dismay, but Hatake Kakashi, the famous copy-ninja, the lover of erotic literature, was currently going through a mid-life crisis.

_Maybe Tsunade-sama was on to something there with the alcohol._

* * *

Shion left the Hokage's office with two Konoha ninja wearing masks. The Lady Hokage had assigned them to watch over her during her stay here. She had initially objected, but the Hokage told her that this was standard protocol for visiting heads of state, and that they would be invisible to her eyes. She had asked them to go invisible from right in front of her as a joke, but they did. Mightily impressed, she relented.

She supposed that those two were members of the famous Anbu unit that evoked fear around the world.

As soon as she walked out the doors, the two were nowhere in sight.

Her traveling escorts saw her and walked over to her.

The two armored men politely demanded their money, which she had no problem relinquishing. The price was steep, but she had made up her mind to come here on short notice and well, they did do their job.

She stood expressionlessly as the two greedily counted every gold coin in the bags she gave them.

Satisfied, the two men gave her a cheeky bow and ran off to god knows where. Not that she cared.

Her jounin escort was an enlisted from her village, and he was one of the few that treated her like a human being.

"Shion-sama, did you speak to the Hokage?"

Shion nodded. "I did."

He was surprised. The moon was at its zenith, meaning that they arrived around midnight. "I had heard rumors that the Lady Hokage was an alcoholic and frequently left her office to pursue her desires, but I guess that those were false."

Shion chuckled. "I smelled sake on her breath. Your ears likely heard correctly. I saw her sneak looks at her desk drawer many times."

He laughed loudly, which for him wasn't very loud at all. She knew otherwise and joined in his mirth.

He began to lead the horses in the direction of an inn that looked suitable for her from his wandering about earlier and asked if she was ready to go. She replied, "I am, but the Lady Hokage told me that the inns won't be serving meals this late in the day, and I am admittedly famished after traveling such a great distance." She shot her escort a lighthearted smile, knowing that he never refused her when she did. "Would you care to join me? The Lady Hokage has told me that the restaurants are likely closed, but there is a small ramen shack that will definitely be open. She strongly suggested that I go there if I am hungry." She had no idea why the Hokage would recommend a _ramen_ shack of all things, but who was she to argue?

He looked aghast. He hated ramen with a passion. Salty, carb-heavy, and leaves you feeling awful for hours. Still, she shot him that damn smile, and his fight was over before it began. Heck, even ramen sounded good right now.

"Were you given directions, Shion-sama?" She nodded. "Then please lead the way."

* * *

Hinata had no idea what to say. Or do.  
She even had to remind herself to breathe.

Luckily for her, she at least had a place to put her eyes at.

Naruto...devouring ramen.

She had eaten lunch with him a few times in the past, but each time she was so nervous that she didn't remember eating anything. Or anything at all. She knew Naruto liked ramen, but this was the first time that she actually saw him eating it.

And like all before her, she was transfixed.

This _had_ to be the single, most amazing thing she ever saw.

She was impressed with Chouji's ability to wolf down food from when their teams had a dinner together. Her own teammate Kiba also had quite an appetite.

Comparing their appetite's to Naruto's was like comparing a drop of rain to Tsunade-sama.  
It made no sense at all to try to compare the two.

Naruto finished another bowl and prepared to inhale another one when he saw Hinata staring at him.

"Uh Hinata? Do I have something on my face?"

Hinata just kept staring and said "Ramen..."

Naruto made a sound of understanding and got a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Did I get it?"

Hinata broke from her trance. "Oh...yes?"

He smiled at her. "Good!" And promptly went to breathe in bowl number seven.

Hinata had no idea what he was talking about when she realized that she just had a perfectly normal conversation with Naruto.  
...And she fainted.

Ayame let out a surprised sound, which made Naruto stop eating to see what was going on.

"Hinata? Oi, Hinata!"

He poked at her arms a few times, trying to get a response. Nothing.  
Thankfully she fell forward, onto the table. The chairs were high up and didn't have back supports. They were more like stools, but they were too comfortable to sit on to call them that.

Ayame also tried to wake her, to no avail.

Naruto had no idea what to do, so he put on his 'help me' face and aimed it at his surrogate sister.

She thought about it for a few moments, then said, "I guess you'll have to take her home."

Naruto sighed. He had only gotten through six and a half bowls. He wanted to eat at least ten for the days he missed and for the upcoming days that he'd be out of the village. But Ayame-nee was right. It was too late in the day to get someone from the Hyuuga household, and outside of Neji, he really didn't know anyone over there.

He really didn't want to know anyone else over there either, but that's another story.

As he went to pick Hinata up, Ayame grabbed his half-eaten bowl and proceeded to throw away the contents, eliciting a howl of anger from the blond. Ayame laughed as he went on and on about how one must not waste food, let alone ramen, the food of the gods. She agreed to keep the bowl's contents warm while he carried Hinata home.

Delighted, Naruto promised to come back in record time, and because it was Naruto, she didn't doubt him.

He tried to put Hinata on his back, but she had grown too tall for him to do that without her helping in some way. Naruto also didn't know that an unconscious body was this heavy, but that was something he'd take to the grave. He learned that one from Sakura.

He stopped for just a moment thinking about her, as he always did when she popped up in his mind.  
He really had to work for everything in life. Nothing came easy for him.

And Sakura might not be there waiting for him when everything's all said and done.

He put her out of his mind for now and picked Hinata up princess-style. This resulted in her right breast being pushed up rather forcefully into his own body. He tried to shift her body around a little to lessen it, but try as he might, that breast found his body and if he didn't know any better, snuggled into it.

Finding no way around it, he secured her as well as he could and shot toward the Hyuuga compound, her breast rhythmically bouncing against his body after each jump. He did his best to not feel how soft she was, and how good she felt against him.

Ayame saw him awkwardly shifting Hinata around, trying to avoid contact with her more feminine body parts. It made her happy and sad at the same time. She was pleased to find that he wanted to treat a woman with care and respect. It also made her a bit lonely that no man had ever treated and touched her that way.

Oh, there were some that certainly wanted to _touch_ her that way, but she would have none of it.  
Definitely not before she's at least _treated_ that way.

She put what was left of Naruto's final bowl into a pot and placed it on the stove to keep warm. It was past their regular closing time by at least an hour and she was very tired. But for Naruto, she'd tough it out.

Especially considering that her sacrifice right now didn't compare at all to the sacrifices he's made for the village.

She decided to lose herself in her thoughts while Naruto was away when she heard consistent _click-clack_ sounds that she knew only a horse could make. She looked in the direction of the sound and sure enough, two horses fastened to a small carriage were heading in her direction. She was briefly wary of who it could have been when a man (he looked like a man) ordered the horses to stop and opened the carriage, revealing a beautiful woman with long, blond hair wearing very formal-looking clothing.

Ayame relaxed as the woman smiled at her. Even in the middle of the night, the woman's smile was inherently radiant and clearly visible. Such a person would mean her no harm.

The woman came up to the front and asked if they were open. They really weren't, but there were chairs out and from an outsider's view, it looked like she was cooking something. And besides, it's not like they were so well off that they could refuse customers.

So Ayame smiled and replied a clear, "Yes! What will you be having?" Which also triggered a smile from Shion as she pored over the menu.

"Let's see...how about miso ramen?"

* * *

"Naruto."

"Neji."

"What did you do to Hinata-sama."

"Nothing."

"I see."

"Hmm."

"Hmm."

Naruto was really happy to see that Neji was still awake. He didn't want to just leave her at the front door. He had intended to leave Hinata to Neji and quickly head back to Ichiraku's, but Neji just _had_ to give him that death stare that made even him feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Why is she unconscious, Naruto."

"I don't know."

Neji pressed. "People don't just suddenly fall unconscious for no reason."

Naruto would have agreed, as most people don't, but Hinata? Well, she was an exception. Around him, at least.

"Well Hinata does when she's around me. I don't know why it happens."

Neji came to an understanding. This was true. Hinata-sama was pretty much as normal and average as a person could be.  
Except when around Naruto.

Naruto however, after finally thinking about the topic at hand for a few seconds, got concerned. "Is she allergic to me or something? Is she sick? Did I make her sick?"

Neji's face remained as resolute as ever, betraying nothing. _She's in love with you, you dunce._ Neji blinked. "Yes Naruto, she's sick. Very sick."

Naruto's concern amplified immediately. "Is she okay? Is she going to be okay? I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Neji would destroy anyone in poker, even if you threw out Byakugan. "It's alright. It's not fatal, it's not contagious, and fainting is the only symptom, unless you count blushing. I honestly thought she'd be cured by now given her age, but I guess she needs a little longer."

Naruto visibly relaxed. "Oh good, I thought she might...whew. That's good."

Neji blinked again. Naruto was truly this stupid. He thought he made his sarcasm pretty obvious, but apparently he didn't. He'd have to work on that.  
He did have a few questions that he'd like answered, though.

"Did you find her unconscious? Or did you walk up close to her?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, nothing like that. She stared at my face for awhile, and I asked her if something was on it, and she said yes, I had ramen on my face. So I wiped it off with a napkin, asked if I got it, she said yes, and fainted."

Which made no sense at all to Naruto but made everything crystal clear for Neji.

_Hinata-sama managed to actually form coherent statements to Naruto. I might have to ask the cooks to prepare red rice for tomorrow morning._

"Okay Naruto, you can go. Thanks for bringing her over."

Naruto was still worried about Hinata's health, and not fully convinced that she'll be okay. "She'll be okay then? 100% okay?"

Neji nodded. "As well as she'll ever be."

Naruto broke out the big smile that he used all the time as a kid but seldom used recently, thanked Neji profusely, and shot off into the night.

Neji looked down at Hinata, who looked entirely too happy for someone supposedly unconscious.

Shaking his head, he carried her back to the housing area. He tried his best to ignore her lovingly saying "Naruto-kun" in her sleep.

* * *

End of Chapter 2.

I honestly have no idea where this came from. I was bored out of my mind and didn't want to sleep.  
It's 3:00 am. I have class in 5 hours.

And I'm not sorry at all I wrote this. In two hours no less!

I hope you enjoyed. Feedback welcome.

Expect a new chapter before I die. Maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

An Isosceles Love Triangle

Chapter 3

* * *

Time was his limiting factor.

There were too many things he wanted to do-eat, sleep, make up with Sakura, and train, to list but a few. Nine hours was simply not enough time to do everything that he felt needed to get done.

So he settled for satisfying his body's necessities-eating and sleep. The rest would have to wait.

Hopefully Ayame-nee kept his ramen just short of boiling hot, which was how he liked it.

* * *

"Shion-sama, are you all right?"

Shion quickly gulped down a cup of ice water that Ayame quickly readied. Upon finishing the glass, she set the cup down and took a few quick breaths through her mouth to provide additional cooling for her scalded tongue.

Ayame realized her blunder and apologized. Only Naruto liked his ramen just short of boiling temperature. Naruto liked his ramen to be over 90 degrees Celsius. The rest of society liked theirs at around 70 degrees.

She gave her customers a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. Our best customer likes his ramen far hotter than other guests, and I was...on autopilot." She finished lamely. She entertained a thought for a few seconds then added, "Meal's on the house. It was my fault."

A double failure tonight. Allowed customers after closing time, and gave them a free meal. She was going to get chewed out by her father in the morning.

Shion laughed and shook her head. "No, it's no problem at all! I mean, it _was_ hot, but it was good too! I was eating far faster than I should have because I liked it so much so this is really my fault."

Her escort inwardly smiled and resumed eating his own bowl. He thought nothing of the chef's error and wondered why the chef was kicking herself so harshly for it. Leave it to his liege to lighten the situation.

He spun a sizable ball of noodles and ate it, enjoying the flavor far more than he had anticipated. At its best, the taste of ramen was a myriad of small amounts of vegetables and spices, with the main ingredient winning out just enough to be noticeable. At its worst, eating ramen was no different than drinking saltwater, and he had experienced that on far too many occasions. He had his doubts when he saw the relative youth of the chef, but her ramen was pretty much the best that he'd ever had.

Which was why he allowed himself to smile ever so slightly when the chef relaxed and thanked her liege.

Also, there was no way he was going to eat here for free. Considering what he had paid good money for in the past, it would have been blasphemous.

Time languidly flowed by as Shion delicately worked through her bowl while her escort finished his and asked for another.

He finished his second bowl as Shion finished her first. After downing another cup of ice water, she smiled at Ayame radiantly.

"It was incredible! I wish my country had food of such quality!"

Ayame laughed and thanked her for the compliments before asking, "What country are you from?"

Her escort's attentiveness increased ever so slightly. Where they were from was no secret, but he felt that the fewer people who knew of his liege's identity, the better."

Shion sensed this and knew how to respond. "I am from Demon Country. I am a priestess on a pilgrimage."

Her escort chuckled. The answer was perfect. It was almost entirely true, and yet couldn't be farther from the truth. He knew of his liege's goals, and to call her journey to accomplish those goals a pilgrimage was too much.

Ayame was impressed. "Demon Country! That's at least a two week trip!"

Shion shook her head. "It's a two week trip if you take the roads. The roads take much longer because they go around Swamp Country, which as its name suggests, has no roads. We took a...shortcut, that not many people know about to get here much faster."

Ayame nodded, satisfied with the answer.

Shion relaxed, relieved at not having to clarify. She didn't want to divulge the fact that she flew over all of swamp country in her angel form while her escort simply did whatever ninjas do to traverse through by land. They met the idiot duo and their wagon at the border of Swamp and Grass Country and rode inconspicuously the rest of the way.

Finished with their meals and small talk, Shion paid for her meal and her escort paid for his. Ayame was floored at the size of the tip the man gave and sputtered incoherently at how it was too much and that it wasn't necessary.

Her escort put an end to that by holding up his hand to stop her rambling and telling her it was more than deserved.

Ayame then began sputtering anew, saying bits and pieces of 'Thank You Very Much' as fast as she could while bowing profusely. Shion laughed and promised to come back as her and her escort left. The sounds of horseshoes again filled an otherwise quiet village and faded off into the night.

Ayame then gave her attention to the sizable amount of money she just received. She shakily picked up the paper bills and counted them. She crunched the numbers in her head and chuckled weakly. It wasn't everyday that a customer paid an 800% tip.

Feeling great and now looking forward to her father praising her, Ayame hummed a soft tune to herself as she looked over Naruto's meal. To cap off a perfect evening, she was satisfied with its temperature just as Naruto materialized in his seat.

Naruto, being a ninja, couldn't help but the happiness and sunshine radiating out from her.

"Ayame-nee!"

"What's up, Naruto? Did you get Hinata back okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I ran into Neji at the front gate and he took her."

"Good!"

Ayame resumed humming and poured Naruto's meal into a bowl and set it in front of him.

Naruto just stared at her for a few seconds before trying again.

"Ayame-nee!"

"What's up, Naruto? Aren't you going to eat?"

Naruto nodded, but this time he wasn't going to be thrown off topic. "No, I'm going to...but...Ayame-nee?"

"What's up, Naruto?" she replied while humming merrily.

Playing around the bush wasn't working, so Naruto decided for the direct approach.

"Are you okay?"

She finally gave him her full attention. "Hmm? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Naruto was getting confused. "You just seem...happy. Really happy?"

"Naruto! I'm always happy!"

"I know! I know...but it's like...you're..._weirdly_ happy. I don't think I've seen you like this before." Naruto straightened up. "Did someone put a genjutsu on you?" He put his hand on her arm and focused his chakra. "Kai!"

After nothing happened, Ayame rolled her eyes and lightly tapped him on his forehead. "Okay fine, Naruto. I had some customers come in while you were dropping Hinata off. They ordered three bowls altogether and..." Ayame tried to build up the moment. "They left an EIGHT HUNDRED PERCENT TIP!"

Naruto visibly recoiled, not at all expecting that. He himself had begun to leave around a 200% tip after every meal for the past year or so, ever since he started doing high A-rank missions. He had just been trumped, and trumped badly.

There was no way he could afford to leave an 800% tip each time he went unless he ate out at most once a month or saved a filthy rich princess every other Tuesday, and the prospects of either happening weren't very high.

As Ayame did some fist pumps and said how awesome a chef she was to no one in particular, Naruto smiled. Ayame was family. Her happiness was his happiness.

"That's great Ayame-nee. They must have really liked your cooking. Who were they? Gai and Lee?" He couldn't think of customers in the plural that would go to Ichiraku's in the dead of night. Gai and Lee could have needed a meal after an inspired late-night jog around the world.

"No actually, it was two people from Demon Country. A priestess and her escort."

Naruto couldn't hide his surprise. That was pretty much the last answer he expected. Demon Country?

He thought of Demon Country and a certain pushy priestess that lived there and smiled. Those were good memories.

"Oh yeah? A priestess from Demon Country? I know a priestess from Demon Country. Had a mission over there." Naruto stopped. He lost himself in thought for a few seconds, but quickly discarded it from his mind. There was no way that that was possible.

But just in case...

"What was her name?" He asked as he at last began to eat his meal.

Ayame opened her mouth to answer, then stopped. "You know, I didn't ask..."

* * *

**The next morning**

Kakashi looked bored, Sakura looked like the cover girl for _Kunoichi Monthly_, and Naruto looked...not eager. Much less eager than he was for the previous mission. Once you get and accomplish that first S-rank, much of the luster goes away.

Even so, Team Kakashi looked rested and fit for duty.

Tsunade sighed. In front of her were documents for no less than half a dozen S-rank missions. She discarded the ones not labeled 'high-priority' in her sake drawer-she never failed to open that at the end of every day and she could just organize them then.

Six folders became two. A mission to search and destroy a group of rogue ninja concocting and selling methamphetamine or a two-week border patrol shift at the Grass/Stone border.

If she thought about it, the choice was obvious. Kakashi had his dog summons and Naruto had his shadow clones. Together, they could find and track pretty much anything if they really tried. Sakura wasn't much helpful in that facet, but she could more than make up lost ground in the 'destroy' part of the mission.

Sending Naruto to the ANYTHING/Stone border would likely trigger the Second Tsuchikage to blow a head gasket and send his entire jounin corps to kill him. Something told her Grass Country wouldn't appreciate that, seeing how they were allies.

It was so obvious which mission she should send the team, and yet, she was hesitating. The intangibles that weren't on the documents were rather significant for the latter mission. While Tsunade had sent full chunin teams to assist Grass, Stone country caught on and had been sending jounin cells for the past month. Grass ninja were getting slaughtered, and two outposts had already been lost. Tsunade herself had lost about a score of chunin, and about twice that were injured. The cries for help at the border were getting too loud, and they needed a boost of morale. At the very least, sending Kakashi and Sakura would do that.

She smiled grimly. She _really_ didn't want to split the team apart at such a critical point in the team's well-being, but she couldn't see a feasible alternative. She'd send a reserve with Kakashi and Sakura, and have Naruto on standby for the s&d mission.

Tsunade looked up. At her side as always, Shizune stirred. Tonton was wiggling profusely in her arms like usual.

"I'm splitting you guys up." She began. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, Naruto's eyes narrowed, and Sakura remained expressionless. "Kakashi. Sakura. I'm putting...uh...Shizune, who do we have available on reserve right now?"

Shizune searched her memories. "Genma should be cleared for duty sometime today or tomorrow. We're expecting Shikamaru's team back this afternoon, though they'll likely need rest." She paused.

Tsunade waited all of three seconds before asking, "That's it?"

Shizune scrunched her face trying to remember. Naruto briefly smiled, thinking the act cute. Then he remembered she was sixteen years older than he was.

She got it. "Anko should be ready. If you're thinking about the border mission, she's wanted to go back for the past week. Some stone jounin got the best of her her last shift and she's wanted vengeance since."

Tsunade smiled. A motivated Anko was more than she hoped for.

"Kakashi. Sakura. I'm temporarily putting Anko in your team for a two-week shift at the Grass/Stone border. Stone has been sending jounin regulars for the past month, and the lines are more or less falling apart. I'm going to send three chunin cells later in the afternoon that will be under your command. Your mission will be to at the very least, hold the current lines and if possible, get back the lost territory. Do NOT overextend, however."

Now Sakura's eyes narrowed in what Tsunade thought was distaste while Kakashi visibly relaxed. In a tone that he'd discuss the weather with, he asked who the team leader was going to be.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You are, Kakashi. Don't be ridiculous."

He shrugged. "I assumed as much. Just be sure to remind her of that before we go dillydallying with some stoners."

Tsunade and Shizune laughed. Few ninja could call elite stone ninja 'stoners' and get away with it. It felt good to send Kakashi to the border fight. She all but expected Grass to be kissing her ass before the two weeks was up.

"You're dismissed. Shizune, contact Anko and tell her to get ready. You all leave for the border in one hour."

Kakashi and Sakura nodded in assent, and quickly left. Shizune followed after them.

Naruto was very confused. "Oi, Grandma. What about me?"

She gave him a rueful smile. "I send you to the border, and the _fifth_ great war begins in Grass Country.

He sighed in defeat. He knew firsthand how bloodthirsty and irrational stone ninja got when they saw him. Irrational at times was a good thing.  
Bloodthirsty never was.

He threw his hands up. "So...what do I do? Got anything for me?"

Tsunade realized then just how much he'd grown up. The Naruto she first met would have cried bloody murder at being left behind.

"I'd have to check. I can't send you on a S-rank alone, and the missions we've been getting lately are almost all just that. I do have a high priority S-rank that needs to get done, and I'd love to send you on it, but it requires a three-man team with a history of working well together in the past."

Naruto wasn't terribly eager to jump right into a second straight S-rank, but he was a jounin, and had to pull his weight. "I know Hinata's in the village. I saw her last night...or was it this morning...at Ichiraku's."

Tsunade blinked. Apparently Shizune forgot about Hinata. "Anyone else you can think of?"

Naruto searched his brain and found...nothing. "No. No one."

Tsunade's right hand began inching closer to her sake drawer. "Think of one more person that you can work well with in a search and destroy mission. Come back here when you do." Naruto gave her a mock salute and turned to walk out.

Tsunade had no other appointments for the morning _and_ managed to get Shizune out of the office. With about 40 minutes left before Team-Kakashi-minus-Naruto-plus-Anko were scheduled to arrive, it was relaxing time.

* * *

Naruto decided he need to confirm that Hinata was available for the mission before searching for teammate number two. It wouldn't do to assume she was.

He squeezed in a daily exercise of using wind chakra as he made jump after jump using nothing but the wind as added propulsion.

He arrived at the Hyuuga gates and saw Neji sweeping up dust.

Naruto facepalmed. He forgot about Neji.

He briefly entertained the thought of having Neji be teammate no.2 but decided against it, as having two sources of Byakugan was borderline cheating. Also, Neji would go looking for trouble to outkill Naruto, and that just would not do.

"Hey Neji. You have cleaning duty today?"

Neji was a bit surprised that it was Naruto he had sensed. He felt an irregularity in the wind, but did not attribute it to a ninja. Naruto was getting really good at wind manipulation if even he was so easily fooled.

"I sweep every day. If I don't do it then an elder from the branch family will be made to." Neji no longer grimaced at the injustice, as he knew Hinata would right it. They all just had to be patient, and if it meant he had to wake up an hour earlier than he liked for now, so be it.

Naruto looked away. "I see."

The two remained silent for what seemed like a minute, both lost in their thoughts.

Neji broke the silence. "Why are you here today, Naruto?"

Naruto flinched. Right, he was here for a reason. "Do you know if Hinata's here? I wanted to ask her on a mission."

That earned Neji's full attention. He stopped sweeping and turned to look directly at Naruto. "Really? What for? Do you need the Byakugan?"

"Yeah. It's a search and destroy mission."

Neji smiled. "I'll go."

Naruto fidgeted around, angry with himself for revealing the mission type. "Yeah, but if you go, the mission will take like two days and we'll compete with each other for kills and we never keep it down and then people see what we're doing and think we're crazy and it'll be boring and-"

Neji put a hand up, stopping him. Sadly, the rant contained nothing but truth. There _was_ such a thing as sending overqualified teams for a mission. They inevitably grow bored and end up doing what Naruto just ranted about.

"Right. Well even so, I think it's time that I ask for a mission. It's been admittedly stuffy around here lately."

Naruto held up his index finger, remembering something. "Why didn't Shizune-neesan remember you and Hinata were available for missions?"

"Jounin that have a clan affiliation are not part of the general rotation. We can go ask for missions, and be requested to go on specific missions, but we can't be ordered to go on them. Only exception is if we apply for and get a genin cell. It has to do with the higher level of danger involved, and clans wanting to protect their secrets or bloodlines."

Naruto had no idea such a policy existed, but it did make sense.

"Right. Well, do you know where Hinata is? I think Granny said the mission was high-priority, so the faster I find her the better."

"High-priority almost makes it sound like we _should_ go together and just get it over with."

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'd like to get out of the village for awhile."

Neji understood. He felt that way every day.

"And hey! Hinata's not that bad."

Neji chuckled. She was nowhere near the fighter he was, but he conceded that she likely was as good a tracker.

"Lady Hinata would have finished her morning rounds at the hospital, so you'll likely find her in Training Ground Eight practicing genjutsu with Yuuhi-san."

"She works at the hospital?"

"The clinic. She does easy stuff like diagnosing colds and healing simple training wounds."

Naruto got ready to go. Training Ground Eight was a good two miles from where he was, and he hoped to cover it in less than five minutes.

"Thanks Neji. Next time we should go ask Granny for a kill-everything mission together."

Neji smiled and nodded. He'd look forward to that one. "Later, Naruto." He said as he resumed sweeping.

The sound of a strong wind hurrying by was how Naruto replied back.

* * *

Shion stretched out her arms, legs, and took a deep breath. The mornings in leaf country were amazing. The sun felt like it was hugging you, making you feel nice and warm.

She had a lovely breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and hash browns. Western style breakfasts did not exist in her country and she would see to it that they would in the immediate future.

The door to her room opened and Shion raised her guard ever so slightly before her escort came in.

"Who do I love?"

He replied, "family, friends, and future members of both."

She relaxed and turned from the window to greet him.

He had two cups of tea with him. "Apparently this inn is famous for its green tea."

She smiled. He was a man that tried anything that had a good reputation. He loved making decisions like that for himself.

The tea was pleasant going down, but nothing special. The aftertaste it left however, was superb, to the delight of both.

As they cleaned up and got ready to check out, her escort asked her what her plans were for the day, and if he should look into finding another place to stay for the night.

What she _really_ wanted to do was spend time at Naruto's place, but that was a fantasy best left in the confines of her mind.

"I was hoping to meet Naruto today and spend time with him...see if he's still the man that I remember four years ago." She was convinced that he'd remain the cheerful, irrationally confident person that he was, but it never hurt to be sure.

_See if he's still the man I love._

"Do you plan on spending the entire day with him? That may be fine for you, but he is an enlisted. He might have a mission today, or already be out on one."

Shion sighed in mild frustration. How did she forget to ask the Lady Hokage where Naruto currently was?

He understood. "We could go back to the Lady Hokage and ask her-"

She cut him off. "No. She will be busy, and we were terribly rude to come by unannounced last night and she still met with us. This is not a problem for her village and we should respect that."

"That is true Shion-sama, but I will remind you that _you_ are the head of state of Demon Country and the problems of _your_ country should be the top priority in your mind."

She gave him a crooked smile in defeat and relaxed into a chair. "And _that_ is why I make a terrible high priestess."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her look up in surprise. She knew he hated making body contact with anyone. "That may or may not be so, but I cannot see how anyone else could do better."

She gave him a radiant smile and briefly brought her hand on top of his in silent thanks for his support. She got up, grabbed her belongings and walked towards the door and said, "Well, I'll just wing it then. We'll see what happens."

He left it unsaid that he'd keep her safe no matter what she did or where she went. It came with being a godfather.

* * *

Hinata was doing her best.

She, Kurenai-sensei, and Naruto were at a local bar relaxing after the training session. Earlier, Naruto showed up at the training grounds to her horror and asked her if she wanted to go on a mission with him. At the time she was sweaty, tired, had spots of dirt on her face from a brief taijutsu session, and was failing to correctly dissipate a double-layered genjutsu.

It was pretty much her apocalypse.

Kurenai-sensei was surprised at Naruto's arrival, but thought nothing of it and even asked him to help out in their training.

Hinata wished she had the mental fortitude to ask him herself. _Baby steps, baby steps..._

Kurenai-sensei used upwards of twenty genjutsu combinations on him to see how he would react. The training session ended up being very valuable to her and she wanted to thank him for his assistance.

Hinata knew that Kurenai-sensei loved shochu sake and coming here was as much for her enjoyment as anything else.

It didn't help Hinata that she felt pangs of jealousy at her own sensei for being so casual with the boy she liked. They were talking like old friends and she felt cut off from the conversation. She really did not want to be there.

"Hinata!"

She turned towards the source and made eye contact with Naruto. Before she had time to think, he asked her if she wanted anything.

"Orange juice?"

Naruto nodded and got the bartender's attention. "Orange juice here please!"

The bartender was briefly caught off guard at a non-alcoholic order, but quickly composed himself and completed the order.

Hinata just left the cup of orange juice sit in front of her.

Naruto grew a little frustrated, but kept it inside and encouraged her. "You ordered it, right?" She nodded timidly. "Try it. Let me know if it's good."

She took a sip and loved it, like she knew she would. "It's good Naruto-kun...thank you."

Naruto was far more pleased with himself than he thought. "Good! Let me know if you want a refill." She nodded meekly in response and he was satisfied.

Kurenai, however, was not. "Hinata, we're at a bar. Loosen up a bit. If you like orange juice, at least order a screwdriver."

Hinata stilled. She loved her sensei, but she hated that trait of hers. Hinata hated alcohol. It made people lose their inhibitions and lose control of themselves. Her friends have tried to get her drunk in the past for her to 'come out of her shell', but she liked her shell just fine. She even felt that her 'shell' was a big part of who she was. She was a controlled, careful, shy person by nature.

If they wanted her to leave her shell, it meant they didn't like who she was.

Naruto didn't even hesitate to order orange juice for her. She saw the funny looks he got from the other customers for ordering a non-alcoholic beverage in a bar that mainly serves career ninjas. He thought nothing of it and only sought to make her happy.

She stopped there. She already liked him. She knew that he knew that she liked him. She also knew that she was teetering on the like/love barrier as is, and she didn't want to fall in love without knowing how he felt about her. She knew it was cowardly, but again, that was a part of what she was.

But as Kurenai-sensei and Naruto began talking with each other again and leaving her out, she decided that it didn't have to be.

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto stopped and looked past Kurenai, who was sitting between them, to focus on Hinata. "Yeah, what's up?"

She mustered what willpower she had. She started it, and she hoped she had the strength to finish it. "That mission you were talking about?" She paused.

He saw her having trouble and decided to encourage her again. "Yeah? What about it?"

It helped.

"What's the mission? Do you think that I would be...helpful?" She trailed off.

He smiled and confidently replied, "Well, I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't think so."

She found herself smiling a little at his response. "But what's the mission?"

Now Naruto hesitated. "I'd tell you here, but it's S-rank."

Hinata looked down at her drink. S-rank! There was flattery and there was this. He wanted her help on a S-rank!

Kurenai was surprised but didn't react to the news. She then got up from her stool, surprising both of them. "If it's S-rank and I'm not involved, I don't want to know about it. As a jounin instructor I'm allowed to know, but I'd rather not if I don't have to."

Naruto nodded-that was standard protocol. Hinata just looked mutely at her sensei.

Kurenai noticed this and decided to leave with a twist. "Naruto-_kun_." She said as she lightly touched his face. "You really helped me out with my training today. I'd _love_ it if you helped me out with my training in the future if you're available."

Naruto was always happy to help and everyone knew it, Hinata thought rather viciously. He of course agreed enthusiastically and thanked her for his drink. She then ordered a bottle of sake to go and left the bar.

Hinata resumed staring at her drink. _Was her sensei always such a shank?_

She found him looking at her as she walked out the door. Jealousy again flared throughout her along with disdain for her sensei.

This would not do.

She took Kurenai-sensei's seat and leaned towards him but made no body contact. "So? What is the mission? How can I help?"

Naruto saw a determined look on Hinata's face-a look that he hadn't seen on her since her fight with Neji all those years ago. He was quite happy to see it and quietly began telling her the mission specs.

Hinata had trouble focusing on his words due to his close proximity, but she steeled herself to do her best.

This was for the man that she wanted to love.

* * *

Kurenai took a deep breath as she began walking home to make lunch for her son. The atmosphere in the bar was stifling, to put it kindly.

She acted most out of character, and it took a lot out of her to do it. She wanted to come across as playfully flirting while making it clear that he had no chance without making the latter seem too obvious to Hinata.

Needless to say, it was quite the difficult acting job.

But, it appeared that she was successful, if Hinata's radiating anger was any indication.

She'd have to make up with Hinata later, but she didn't see that being too difficult to achieve. The girl was just too kind.

And so was Naruto.

She twirled her sake bottle around leisurely as she quietly wished Hinata all the luck in the world.

* * *

I have a habit of not wanting to give original characters' names. Is reading the story this way alright or does it really come across like I'm trying too hard to avoid it (i.e. is it too wordy/repetitive/annoying)? Would appreciate a few responses.


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